After a week of near solid clouds things cleared a bit last night, and for the first time since I got my telescope, the moon was out and half illuminated (first quarter apparently).
I put out the telescope before dinner to let it cool.
Later I went out and saw magnificent detail through my 26mm 2" eyepiece. I also had a quick try of my new TV Delos 6mm and wow, significant jump in magnification and detail visibility, but the seeing was not good enough for more than occasional steady viewing.
I sat and looked and took in some of the details, I could see craters of various ages and sizes and some with a hill in the centre (I wonder if that is the remains of the impacting object?). I found a wall like feature that ran quite straight for some distance and cast a sharp shadow. I went inside and did some checking and learnt that it is called Rupes Recta. I also learnt about the sizes of some of the features, those small, deep craters are about 17 km across, it would be a dramatic place to walk and make photos if you could.
Last edited by pw; 20-04-2013 at 09:33 AM.
Reason: spelling
I love looking at the detail at the edge with the dark vastness of space beyond. I can't describe the feeling. somewhere between thrilling and humbling!
Thanks Peter , the moon is one of my favorite things to view and you never see the same thing twice as the view is always changing .
By the way what scope do you use ?
Brian.
With all the objects in the infinite vastness of space, I still find the moon one of the most fascinating to view and can spend hours "Crater-hopping" its surface.
I first spied it through an old Russian rifle scope in 1960s, these the days the riflescope has been replaced with a more modern gadget but the enjoyment remains the same.
Thanks Peter , the moon is one of my favorite things to view and you never see the same thing twice as the view is always changing .
